Chen Man is a 31 year-old Chinese photographer, born and raised in Beijing. She graduated from the photography department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2005. But before she even gradutated, she had already started collaborating with Shangai-based fashion magazine Vision, which was one of the few, if not the only, progressive magazines around at that time. This, and a contact of hers, were her open door into the world of heavy weights such as Harper’s Baazar, Elle, Esquire… and the list of magazines, agencies and campaigns goes on.
According her, there was a time in which photographers didn’t consider her a photographer and artists didn’t consider her an artist due to the heavy digital manipulation she applied to her work, so she cut back a lot on the editing and started working with more natural light and retouching a lot less. However, for Chen Man, the idea that untouched photographs are always better and that art and commerce just don’t mix is very disputable.
Her passion for beauty and glamour is obvious in each of her shots and her emphasis on the beauty of the Asian woman have made her one of China’s most important fashion photographers.